EdTA Advocacy Update
July 18, 2018
The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education.
EdTA NEWS
Get to Know the 2018 Board Candidates
The filing period for ballot petitions has expired without any petitions having been filed. Thus the ballot will carry the names put forward by the EdTA nominating committee, two for one vice president/president seat and four for two director seats.
Advocacy Leadership Network Honored as EdTA Volunteers of the Year
The Educational Theatre Association’s (EdTA) Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes individuals who support the Association through exceptional volunteer efforts. The 2018 recipients are the 16 members of the Advocacy Leadership Network (ALN).
NATIONAL NEWS
PBS Taps Former NEA Chief Jane Chu To Expand Representation of the Arts From Communities Across America
Jane Chu, the most recent head of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), will join PBS as an adviser, the organization announced today. Chu will help identify opportunities for public media to broaden access and representation in its presentation of the arts to audiences nationwide, building on PBS’ role as America’s largest stage. (PBS)
STATE NEWS
Got state theatre and other arts education news you want to share? Send it to Shea: shaney@schooltheatre.org
Arizona: Phoenix Awards Arts and Culture Grants to 60 Nonprofit Organizations (Phoenix Times)
California: Merced Students Enjoy Hands-On STEAM Lessons at Summer Academy (Merced Sun-Star)
Understanding the Visual and Performing Arts Standards (California State PTA)
Colorado: Proposed Jeffco Arts School Postponed until 2019-20 (Canyon Courier)
Connecticut: Friends and Neighbors: Teacher Gets Library of Congress Residency Honor (The Day)
Florida: Trump Plans to Nominate Interior Designer with Deep Palm Beach Ties for National Council on the Arts (Palm Beach Daily)
Kravis Center Announces Four New Schools for Disney Musicals in Schools Program (Broadway World Palm Beach)
Idaho: Idaho Commission on the Arts Details Grants (Bonner County Daily Bee)
Indiana: Fort Arts Organizations to Benefit from Indiana Arts Commission Grants (News Sentinel)
Kansas: Art Matters (The Emporia Gazette)
Maine: EHS Show Choir Director Passes Torch to Daughter (The Ellsworth American)
Michigan: As Two Big Endorsements Back Country-Wide Arts Millage for August 7 Vote, Advocates Address Citizen Concerns (East Village Magazine)
will Buy Sets, Props for Martin High School Drama Program (MLive)
Missouri: Smith-Cotton High School Graduates Attend International Thespian Festival (Sedalia Democrat)
Missouri Arts Council Seeks Nominations for ‘Arts Heroes’ (Buffalo Reflex)
North Carolina: The Drama Center of City Arts in Greensboro is Getting Ready to Celebrate its 50th Anniversary (Greensboro News & Record)
New York: Trump Appoints Albright-Knox Backer to National Council on the Arts (Buffalo News)
Bright Hill Press, Partners Plan Therapeutic Performance Classes (The Daily Star)
Ohio: Rising Star Drama Camp for Ages 6-10 (Wilmington News Journal)
South Carolina: Letter: Arts Programs are Not ‘Earmarks and Pork;’ McMaster’s Veto is ‘Ridiculously Shortsighted’ (Greenville News)
Tennessee: TN Arts Commission Awards Over $4 Million in Grants Across State (WGNS)
West Virginia: Registration Opens for Summer Drama Camp (Register-Herald)
Wisconsin: NEA Delegates Re-Elect Wisconsin Teacher to its Executive Committee (Virtual Strategy Magazine)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Canada: Grassroots Queer Arts Festival in Toronto Aims to Create Safe Spaces (Toronto.com)
Singapore: Best Foot Forward: How a Simple Dance Performance Changed these Students with Autism (Channel News Asia)
United Kingdom: Teacher Who Won $1M will Use Windfall to Get Artists into Schools (The Guardian)
WORTH READING
How Do We Talk About the Value of the Arts?
There are seemingly countless ways to make the case for the arts. The trick is knowing which ones are most effective. Leaders at five different arts organizations explain how they talk about the value of the arts, and how those messages are connecting with the audiences they are trying to reach. (Chorus America)
Incorporating Humanities, Arts, Crafts, and Design into Curricula Makes Better Scientists
If you’ve ever had a medical procedure, chances are you benefited from the arts. The stethoscope was invented by a French /physician named René Laennec who recorded his first observations of heart sounds in musical notation. The suturing techniques used for organ transplants were adapted from lacemaking by another Frenchman, Nobel laureate Alexis Carrel. The methods (and some of the tools) required to perform the first open-heart surgeries were invented by an African-American innovator named Vivien Thomas, whose formal training was as a master carpenter. (Science Magazine)